Tag: 12th Level Intellects

The 12th Level Intellects keep on keepin’ on through February and March with new episodes of the podcast every other week, available on both iTunes and YouTube. James Strecker and myself are the usual hosts, but were joined by a few other folks in some of the segments this round, who you’ll be introduced to shortly.

Comics writer Matthew Manning joined us on the podcast to discuss his work on last year’s BATMAN / TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES ADVENTURES series, and some various stand-alone issues for DC Comics such as JUSTICE LEAGUE ADVENTURES, THE BATMAN STRIKES, and BEWARE THE BATMAN, as well as his sole artist credit drawing a necklace on Mera in on a random 1990s AQUAMAN comic. Manning is a local to Asheville, so I was able to visit his home, record in the living room, and check out his amazing collection of Batman memorabilia.

For episode #11, James and I go back to the roots of the Watchtower Database channel and discuss something specific to the DC Animated Universe. Particularly, we take a look at the Flash, and whether Barry Allen existed in this world when all we ever saw was Wally West in the superhero role. Personally, I lean towards no.

Nothing more notable for the 12th Level Intellects than its twelfth episode. Mattie Washburn was our guest on this one while he and James were at the Emerald City Comic Con in Seattle, Washington. Unfortunately, my audio recording glitched, so James and Mattie navigate the main conversation themselves of what events happened ‘for sure’ between animated series JLU and BATMAN BEYOND. This episode goes out to all the fans who know the Plasma Rifle was invented in 2005.

While at ECCC, James and Mattie had the opportunity to chat with Phil Lamarr, the voice actor behind major DCAU characters Static from STATIC SHOCK and Green Lantern, John Stewart from JUSTICE LEAGUE UNLIMITED, as well as many other familiar voices in animation like SAMURAI JACK and FUTURAMA. While I missed the meet and greet with Mr. Lamarr, you can still hear me talk about upcoming movies and comics in the News and Comic Relief segments of the podcast episode.

12th Level Intellects, the bi-weekly geek entertainment podcast hosted by James Strecker and myself, is now available for streaming and download over iTunes!

The podcast will continue to retain its affiliation with the Watchtower Database YouTube channel where all episodes will be uploaded per usual. The iTunes platform will allow for a smoother streaming experience on mobile devices, especially since iOS users already have the Podcast app included on their phones. Be sure to subscribe, give us a 5-star rating, and write a review if you feel inclined.

With episode #6 scheduled on New Years Day, we decided to run an interview that we conducted a few months ago with Scott Peterson, editor on THE BATMAN ADVENTURES and writer on BATMAN GOTHAM ADVENTURES, both ancillary comics series to the legendary BATMAN: THE ANIMATED SERIES. Peterson has worked on countless other projects in the comics realm, and his interview is well worth the listen for its inspiration and look behind the initial creative process.

For episode #8, we appropriately discussed STAR WARS, EPISODE VIII: THE LAST JEDI. I must admit that I was a little rusty since I had only watched it once, and it had been a few weeks since my viewing, but James and I managed to cover the gist. There were aspects to both appreciate and critique, from the production to the plot. When you get down to it, Mark Hamill’s return to playing Luke Skywalker was a big deal, whether you thought director Rian Johnson approached that correctly or not, an argument that will be sure to permeate among fandom for years.

Another guest joined the show for episode #9 where we discussed the Marvel Cinematic Universe with Jesse Dellea, a rabid MCU fan who digests every piece of content you can find from MARVEL. We talked about recent films like last year’s SPIDER-MAN: HOMECOMING and GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY VOL. 2, NETFLIX series THE DEFENDERS and THE PUNISHER, content on other channels such as AGENTS OF S.H.I.E.L.D. and RUNAWAYS, as well as shows from FOX’s X-MEN universe like LEGION and GIFTED. The future looks bright for MARVEL as they prep for INFINITY WAR and beyond to phase 4, which could possibly be fantastic.

In episode #5, we reviewed the JUSTICE LEAGUE movie shortly after its release, but spoiler alert: it was pretty problematic for various reasons. We also speculated on the AVENGERS: INFINITY WAR trailer, slated for release in May 2018, which seems to use the same plot as JUSTICE LEAGUE, but bigger and better. Ironic.

Next, we brought on our first guest, Brian Day of New Angle Entertainment, to talk through The CW’s latest superhero crossover event “Crisis on Earth-X”, a four part special which reunited the characters from ARROW, THE FLASH, SUPERGIRL, and LEGENDS OF TOMORROW. I also bring up Captain Carrot and Earth designations of the DC Multiverse, so there’s plenty of trippy nerdy stuff to unpack here.

12th Level Intellects has maintained its biweekly schedule. Not that it should come as a surprise, but it feels good to be consistent. In November, we released our third and fourth episodes, embedded below via the Watchtower Database on YouTube.

Our third episode “Arrowverse vs DCAU” consists of an analysis between popular television adaptations of the DC Universe. We compare the CW’s “Arrowverse” from Berlanti Production (ARROW, THE FLASH, LEGENDS OF TOMORROW, and SUPERGIRL) with Warner Bros. Animation’s DC Animated Universe (BATMAN: THE ANIMATED SERIES, BATMAN BEYOND, and JUSTICE LEAGUE), which is regarded by many as the most pure and distilled version of DC Comics’ characters.

The fourth episode “More DCAU Fan Theories!” discusses just that… more DCAU fan theories. James and I started this podcast by reviewing fan theories that present possible plot points that may have occurred behind the scenes in the DCAU, and then we weigh their plausibility. We particularly discuss how Gorilla Grodd may have induced visions of Brainiac in Lex Luthor’s mind in JLU season 3, the alleged supernatural powers of Andrea Beaumont’s Phantasm, and J’onn J’onzz getting replaced by the Justice Lord version from a dark parallel universe.

James Strecker and I recently debuted the first episode of our new podcast 12TH LEVEL INTELLECTS, named after the DC Comics term for a cosmic genius, and an offshoot from the fan theory discussions of the same name we recorded for the WATCHTOWER DATABASE. We focus the conversation specifically on niche topics relating to DC Comics and DC Animation. Adam Mullen composed the intro music.

We hope to release an episode every other week where we discuss relevant news, comic book recommendations, and dive into a random topic, the first being our expectations for the upcoming JUSTICE LEAGUE feature film. Listen to the episode embedded below via YouTube or find us for streaming on Soundcloud.

James Strecker and I recently had the pleasure of chatting with a major player in the DC Animated Universe, voice over actress Susan Eisenberg who played Wonder Woman in the JUSTICE LEAGUE animated series, in another segment of the 12th Level Intellects podcast hosted by the Watchtower Database channel.

Susan spoke about her experience working on the popular DC Comics series, the process behind voice acting, her gratitude and sense of responsibility playing such an iconic character, as well as her hopes and dreams for the character’s future.

The interview was especially timely as the highly anticipated WONDER WOMAN feature film, directed by Patty Jenkins and starring Gal Gadot and Chris Pine, will soon premiere in theaters everywhere on June 2nd, and Susan Eisenberg herself was wonderful to speak with. We like each other’s pet photos on Instagram now.

About a year ago, I participated in an extensive discussion with James Strecker on fan theories regarding the DC Animated Universe (or DCAU, if you will) which was a series of interlocking cartoons that began in 1992 with BATMAN: THE ANIMATED SERIES and concluded in 2006 with JUSTICE LEAGUE UNLIMITED. The DCAU started one of the first shared universes, a concept that Marvel Studios has now popularized over the last decade.

Since the DCAU experienced such a lengthy run with spin-offs like STATIC SHOCK and BATMAN BEYOND, these versions of DC Comics’ classic characters were truly streamlined to the bare essentials that made them work without all the baggage of 75 years of comic book history. Because of this, some characters were occasionally taken into new, unfamiliar territory, such as the romance between Green Lantern and Hawkgirl as well as a glimpse into the twilight years of Batman’s career.

The DCAU never ceased to surprise even long term fans of the characters and the internet took it upon itself to push the realm of possibility even further. The aforementioned discussion on these fan theories became the 12TH LEVEL INTELLECTS podcast, a continuing segment featured on the WATCHTOWER DATABASE YouTube channel, named for a term in the DCAU meant to describe the smartest beings in the universe. That would naturally be the hosts of the podcast.

We’ve discussed various ideas such as whether the Teen Titans belong to this universe, if Gear and Brainiac bonded to create a lineage in the far future, if villains such as Harley Quinn, the Scarecrow, Penguin, or Lock-Up ever had children, and the possibility that the Justice Leaguer Warhawk was actually the son of Hawkman rather than Green Lantern, among so many more discussions to come over the next few months.

Our biggest success was the Harley Quinn video, linked below, which went viral shortly after the premiere of David Ayer’s SUICIDE SQUAD. As of this writing, the video has gathered over 160,000 views on YouTube and countless comments debating who was actually the father of Harley’s children. Expect additional installments of the 12TH LEVEL INTELLECTS podcast at least once a month as it does take a moment to splice together such a video essay.

The first issue of DC Comics, IDW, and Nickelodeon’s best-selling comic series BATMAN / TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES ADVENTURES dropped on November 9th after selling out its first printing two weeks in advance! I had the pleasure of sitting down with the series writer and fellow Asheville resident Matthew K. Manning for an interview about the project.

I had been hounding Matt to sign my copies of JUSTICE LEAGUE ADVENTURES #14 and #33 for years. We finally made that happen, and he also graciously agreed to geek out with me on the 12TH LEVEL INTELLECTS podcast where we discussed everything from the first issue itself, upcoming plans for the series, our favorite versions of Batman and the turtles, their histories in animation, and many other nuggets of interesting nerd knowledge.